There continues to be so much news on the Clinton front that it’s hard to keep up with it all. For instance, we now know that George Stephanopoulos, a supposed journalist who used to work for the Clintons and remains very tight with them, tried to hide the fact that when he conducted a critical interview with Peter Schweizer, the author of Clinton Cash, he was, in essence, still working for them. Stephanopoulos has contributed about $75,000 to the Clinton Foundation and has actively participated in its events.

None of this was revealed when he was given the assignment to interview Schweizer, an interview in which he asserted that the author had no proof of his allegations against them. Very few people believe anymore that the mainstream media is unbiased, but this was more blatant than usual. Stephanopoulos finally was forced to acknowledge the attachment, but he hardly came across as truly apologetic.

Meanwhile, evidence grows that the Clinton Foundation is primarily just a cash cow to benefit the Clinton family. Bill Clinton’s speaking fees rose astronomically once Hillary was seated in the secretary of state chair. As he infamously said, they have bills to pay.

He doesn’t seem the least bit embarrassed by his actions, but that’s typical for Bill Clinton. Despite the fact his presidency was a national embarrassment, he believes he can weather any storm.

The same goes for his wife. She has pretty much cut herself off from the media, some of whom are actually beginning to act like journalists—or are getting the message they’re being played and don’t like it. Trying to get Hillary to explain herself has become a fulltime profession.

In one way, she’s not exactly like her husband:

Pressed by Fox News’s Ed Henry, she finally took four questions from the traveling media circus surrounding her. Nothing to report there; the usual stonewalling and excuses.

And that e-mail controversy is not going away either. Now we know for sure she lied about having only one account. Another has come to light, and she was using her office to help an acolyte named Sid Blumenthal make a profit on the chaos in Libya. She is claiming she wants the State Department to release all her e-mails. Well of course—she’s already “cleansed” the ones she sent to the department. Like her counterpart at the IRS, Lois Lerner, she did her best to destroy any trail that leads to her questionable actions:

Hillary has taken a hit in some polls, but the real wonder is that there is anyone willing to put this untrustworthy person in the office of the presidency.

The point is that it’s not just Hillary who is corrupt. The entire Democrat machine partakes of the same corruption, and all too many who vote Democrat are blindly following their leaders.

All the news and controversy surrounding Hillary Clinton, on the one hand, and the Iran deal and the administration’s loathing of Israel, on the other, have pushed other important issues to the background. You know, all that “old” news that we’re supposed to forget about, and how it’s time to “move on?”

As an example, when’s the last time you heard much about the IRS scandal? Did the mainstream media, for instance, pick up on this story?

Then there’s the case that went to the Supreme Court about Obamacare. A reading of the law itself would automatically destroy it because the government has illegally provided subsidies expressly forbidden by that law. Yet the outcome is in doubt because one Supreme Court justice should have recused herself but refused to do so. Elena Kagan, when she served as solicitor general, helped ensure Obamacare’s passage. Rules require that justices recuse themselves if in their previous capacity they served as “counselor or advisor” concerning a current matter before the Court, or if there is anything about the proceeding by which the justice’s impartiality can reasonably be called into question.

Justice Kagan, though, has made sure her “yes” vote for Obamacare is counted:

And despite all the many scandals swirling around this presidency, we are told that the president has nothing to do with any of them. Why, he only learned about them the way we did:

All this from the self-proclaimed “most transparent administration in American history”:

I guess that all rests on one’s definition of “transparency.” The only thing transparent about this administration is its dishonesty.

If you know who this woman is, you are part of the minority who stays on top of news that is truly important. If you have forgotten who she is, or her face draws a complete blank, please allow me to fill in that blank. She needs to be known because she represents one of the most heinous activities of the federal government in recent years—the attempt to suppress all political opposition to Barack Obama. She is Lois Lerner, one of the architects of the IRS scheme to target conservative political groups and affect federal elections. In fact, her activities, along with her co-conspirators—yes, I will use that loaded word—may have led directly to Obama’s reelection.

Why am I writing about her today? Isn’t she “old news”? Well, if you get your information from the mainstream news media, that would be the case. All the major networks have ignored completely the latest development in the IRS scandal.

You might remember that Lerner’s attorney informed the Congress that all of her e-mails were inexplicably destroyed in a crash of her hard drive, and that there was no backup. Consequently, sorry Congress, but you really can’t continue investigating this scandal because of this unforeseen act of God. That’s the term, you know, for hurricanes, earthquakes, and destroyed computer hard disks.

That story, though, has been challenged by computer experts who say that’s not possible, given the backup system set up in the government. Now, the latest chapter in this saga is that her Blackberry, which had those so-called lost e-mails, was destroyed after the investigation began. Hmm, is it possible this all could be a coverup? I mean, isn’t there the slightest possibility this is political chicanery?

In league with Lerner is the fairly new head of the IRS, John Koskinen, a good friend and appointee of the president, who has carried out one of the craziest stonewalls of a congressional investigation ever witnessed. He keeps making statements that are demonstrably false, yet expects to get away with them. It’s almost like a comedy routine:

I know many other people have made the following point, but it’s worth repeating: if this were a Republican administration lying to this extent, a new Watergate would be born. Reporters would be falling over themselves digging up the dirt and rushing to report the latest angle of the scandal. Not so today. The mainstream news media doesn’t care. It is so sold out to praising Barack Obama that it has abandoned its basic journalistic role. It’s no longer a news media, but a cheering section in what it considers a political football game.

What about those hardy few who want to know the truth? Their path to the truth is going to be difficult:

In the middle of all the other newsworthy stories—our foreign policy fiascoes and the increased terrorism threat—let’s not forget the IRS scandal. It hits at the very integrity of our government and our elections.

Michael Brown’s funeral is now over. Nightly unrest seems to have left Ferguson, Missouri, for the present. However, expect it to return if the legal process doesn’t go as some desire. This incident is not unique with respect to making a judgment before all the facts are known; it’s becoming alarmingly common in matters touching on race.

Gov. Nixon of Missouri and the Obama administration, represented by Attorney General Holder, have made it clear they have prejudged the situation. Nixon tried to walk back his comment about a vigorous prosecution of the police officer, but few are buying his semi-retraction. Holder says the DOJ will investigate fairly, but that is difficult to accept, given his predisposition to believe the narrative offered by Brown’s advocates. The loss of one life is always a tragedy, but less so if that person attacked the policeman. We’re still waiting for all the facts to come out. While we wait, we must ensure we don’t suffer an even greater tragedy that would affect everyone:

My reluctance to give the Obama administration the benefit of the doubt when it comes to fairness and the rule of law stems from a long train of abuses in the past 5-plus years. The president seems to take any and every opportunity he can to blame Republicans for all the ills of society, never once taking any blame for himself:

Anyone who would use the IRS in an attempt to destroy political opponents has a lot of nerve casting blame on others:

Congressional elections are drawing near. Prospects for Democrats are not good. They have to hope all these issues can somehow be buried and that the electorate will suffer from collective amnesia:

Unfortunately for the Republic, they’ve been able to do this before. Only an alert and principled citizenry can ensure it doesn’t happen again.

As promised, I’m back on July 1. Had a great time in New Zealand. While there, I was keeping up with the news, but refraining from commenting. The big news yesterday, of course, was the Hobby Lobby decision at the Supreme Court—a victory for religious liberty. I’ll be sure to say more about that in the near future, but for now, I want to concentrate on the key developments during my month off. As I survey the month of June, there are three topics that come to the forefront for me:

The escalating IRS scandal

The tragedy unfolding in Iraq

Hillary Clinton’s continuing stumbles toward the Democrat nomination for president

I’ll take topic number one today, then go to the others in the next two days. You know I like using political cartoons to help aid in understanding. Well, now I have a full month’s worth from which to choose. Believe me, it wasn’t easy narrowing down to the best ones. In fact, I may overwhelm you a bit this week with the sheer number of cartoons I will use. I ask for forgiveness up front.

The latest round of corruption at the IRS stems from the supposed “loss” of two years’ worth of Lois Lerner’s e-mails, followed by news that, coincidentally, six other IRS officials connected with this probe have also mysteriously lost their e-mails. Truly an astounding coincidence:

For some strange reason, thinking people doubt the truthfulness of this claim. Could their own experience with the IRS have colored their views? After all, that agency seems to have no problem coming up with everything the American public is forced to send them each year:

There are always those, however, who swallow the Obama administration’s line no matter how unbelievable:

Those same believers find it easier to accept any explanation other than the most probable one:

Republicans in the House called in the newly appointed IRS commissioner, John Koskinen, to grill him about what he’s doing to get to the truth. Koskinen, though, is one of the president’s key financial contributors; he was put in this office to do Obama’s bidding and cover for him. His appearance before the committee revealed an intensely arrogant man who says nothing criminal was done and that he has no intention of really seeking the truth. Congressman Paul Ryan quite bluntly told Koskinen that no one believes him, but he remains unfazed. His ability to deny blatant evidence of wrongdoing fits in quite well with the entire Obama strategy:

No matter what Koskinen might have said, Democrats on the committee were prepared to back him to the hilt:

Aided by the media, naturally. Throughout this ordeal, the constant refrain from the Left has been that this is all politicized, that there is, as their leader asserted, not even a smidgen of corruption. That theme is wearing more than a little thin, and it’s becoming harder for Obama’s adherents to keep up the false image of a Republican frenzy to “get” the president:

Bottom line, here is the real victim of this scandal:

Until and unless this is resolved, conservatives need to be aware of where they stand with this IRS bureaucracy:

This investigation must proceed, and those who have so blatantly upended the rule of law must be brought to justice. I realize that seems unlikely, given the Eric Holder DOJ, but those who are pursuing this need to remain dedicated to their task. It’s not hyperbole to say the future of the republic is at stake.

Which is worse, a false ideology that drives policy or total incompetence in carrying out the policy? Actually, the second might be our salvation, given that the first leads to doom. The Obama administration seems to have cornered the market on both. It doesn’t matter if you look at domestic policy or foreign policy—the wrong ideas and the inability to accomplish anything pervades both. At least we can say they are consistent.

Wrong beliefs led to a fiasco like the IRS targeting of conservative groups. Paranoid about any opposition to his policies, the president turned a blind eye (or may have pointed the direction) when the IRS trained its big guns on anyone who disagrees with their boss. Publicly, Obama decried the injustice, then blithely declared there wasn’t a smidgen of corruption in the incident. Congressional Republicans have tried to investigate but have run into the proverbial stonewall, as the administration refuses to cooperate. Yet they haven’t given up. The IRS may have to come under the microscope eventually. Should that happen, IRS officials will have a taste of their own medicine:

Foreign policy has been a disaster, no matter where one turns. One of Obama’s spokespersons in the State Department yesterday asserted that Obama doesn’t give himself enough credit for what he has accomplished in his dealings with other nations. When pressed by reporters (finally doing their job) to give an example, the spokesperson could only hem and haw. Laughter ensued. If not even your lapdog press believes you anymore, what does that mean?

The incompetence isn’t at the top only. When Obama did his photo op in Afghanistan (because that’s all it really was) earlier this week, the press release about it listed the name of the top CIA chief in the country, thereby making his identity known to the entire world. How could staffers make such a blunder? is it perhaps because they are as prepared for their jobs as the commander in chief was for his?

Further, the approach taken by this administration has become public image over substance. Our new social media, while a boon in many ways, can also become an avenue of trivialization of important matters:

Michelle Obama jumped on the trendy hashtag remedy for correcting the evils of the world. Somehow, that’s the perfect symbol for the Obama years. One can only speculate how the president would have handled earlier global challenges if he had been in charge at the time:

America has never been perceived as weaker in the world’s eyes. Obama tried to defend his foreign policy and the use of the military in a speech to West Point cadets the other day. Whenever a president has to declare he is not weak, that means he probably is. When the New York Times and the Washington Post, two of the president’s staunchest apologists, pan the speech as pointless and devoid of real meaning, that means it truly was pointless and devoid of meaning.

Newly revealed e-mails obtained through the Freedom of Information Act show clearly that administrators and lawyers within the IRS headquarters in DC were actively engaged in targeting conservative groups. It wasn’t just some rogue agents in the Cincinnati office; it was orchestrated from the top. And where does the top get its marching orders? Who’s in charge of the IRS? Oh, yes, that would be the president.

Yet even this revelation doesn’t shake the Obama administration’s response; full-denial mode is in operation. Does anyone remember President Obama’s reaction to the IRS scandal when it first broke? He was “outraged” and was going “to get to the bottom of this.” Those responsible were going to be found. Does that sound somewhat similar to his Benghazi pronouncements? Yet nothing has been done, at least by the administration, on either count.

Then Obama did an about-face, declaring that there wasn’t even a “smidgen” of corruption to be found with respect to the IRS. Will any reporter have the nerve to challenge that statement now? If one does, how will Obama respond?

Since shame is non-existent with these people, don’t be surprised if he puts on another “outrage” act followed by no discernible action. It’s not easy to be outraged over something you desired to see happen anyway, whether your fingerprints can be traced to it or not. I’m of the opinion the targeting was directed from the White House, but that they were extremely careful to ensure nothing can trace it back to the man at the top.